Discussions can be posted here about mediator release testing (MRT), as offered by Oxford Biological Technologies, in conjunction with the LEAP program, which is claimed to determine a relative level of sensitivity to various foods and chemicals by measuring an increase in the ratio of liquids to solids in a blood sample that has been exposed to a specific allergen.
Kari wrote:Instead of making a soup, I make it a thick stew, which feels much more substantial and filling.
That's my kind of stew! I agree - it hits the spot like nothing else can, when I crave something extra rich and filling. I cook it until most of the ingredients, (including the meat), are falling apart, and that really helps to make it thick and satisfying. I usually keep several containers of it in the freezer, during the winter months, so that it's easy to thaw, a day or so ahead of time, and then I can just nuke it at meal time. The problem is, it tastes so good, that I don't know when to quit, and I usually eat too much, and I'm too full for a while. LOL.
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
All I do is cut up veggies/potatoes/meat into bite size pieces. I boil them in just enough water to cover them, and let it simmer for close to an hour. By that time everything is very soft and easy to digest, and the water is absorbed.
Instead of the meat, I use cooked pinto beans (for protein), as I've never cared for meat in stew, but I may need to change that in the future. I add the spicing before boiling, so the stew is nicely flavored when done.
As you can see, it is very plain and uncomplicated, but to me it tastes good and feels satisfying.
Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
Polly- Let me agree with everyone else regarding your positive results with your LEAP diet- keep the good news coming! It gives me hope that some day we'll ALL achieve remission, healing and a varied, interesting and nutritious diet.
Kari -Thanks for giving us Tex's quote. It is now on my fridge and computer at work to keep me focused and believing. And Tex, thank you for the wise words, once again. I don't know what I would do without all of you!
Pat- I hope you are feeling a bit better today. I finely diced some white potatoes and sauteed them in olive oil and then mixed them with to some cooked ground beef seasoned with sea salt yesterday and thought of you. It filled me up and felt like comfort food, a beef hash type dish. It seemed to agree with me. For some reason when I eat beef, I do better with ground meat rather than steak or roast. Have you tried cutting potatoes french fry style and either drizzling with olive oil and baking them well in the oven or frying them in olive oil? Just a thought on preparing them differently to give a bit a variety but keeping with what is working so far.
Kelly
Believe deep down in your heart that you are destined to do great things~ Joe Paterno
I was cooking potatoes that way in the oven and I began to think I was consuming too much oil. I don't know. This is really hard. I don't seem to be progressing. It's only been a little over 3 weeks though, I'm just impatient. Thanks for thinking of me. I'm doing ok.
I agree with taking Imodium. We have always said here that it preferable NOT to take an antidiarrheal, because it's probably best to get the food we are reacting to out of our system quickly...... but I have changed my mind about this. I used Imodium last fall when I had my post-colonoscopy flare, and I think it served 2 purposes: 1, it gave my gut a much-needed break and 2, it helped to "retrain" it, i.e to help the musculature relearn how to work effectively to push food through.
The break, I think, is really important. I think it's akin to when you have a horrible, hacking cough that keeps you up all night. The only thing that works at that point is codeine cough medicine. Codeine is the only med. that will quiet the cough enough that the mucus membranes of the respiratory tract can begin to heal. The less you cough, the more healing that can occur. I think this can be applied to the gut too. I think it needs a break from that toxic stool running constantly through it and irritating the mucus membranes.
I found that I had good 24 hr. control with 1/2 pill in the AM and 1/2 pill in the PM. BTW, I have used both Lomotil and Imodium, and I found Imodium to be more effective, hands down.
I hope Imodium helps you, too.
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Thank you for posting abou your experience with Imodium. I've always hesitated to use it because I thought it just postponed the inevitable, but your reasoning sounds very logical. I hope I don't have to use it once I'm off of Entocort, but I'll feel better about it if I do.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
You're welcome Pat, so glad I could help a little. As you may know, cooking is definitely not my forte, so I'm so proud of whatever I can put together that's half decent and will do the job of satisfying the hunger .
I like your analysis of why one should take imodium Polly - sounds logical to me. Guess I basically have come to the same conclusion, by listening to my gut (pun intended). Short circuiting a flare by taking imodium seems very sensible. As we've all learned the hard way, once in a full blown flare, it seems to take on a life of its own, and is very difficult to reign in.
I'm so glad imodium works for me now, as earlier on in my healing process it was giving me stomach cramping, and I used pepto instead. Now I seem to react to pepto with the D. getting worse instead of better. I attribute this to all the changes that are taking place in my body over a relatively short time period?
Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
I also would vote for Imodium hands down over Lomotil. (And at the moment pepto is my friend.)
My internist years ago told me to take Imodium instead of the Lomotil he had prescribed for me weeks earlier, because the cramping pain was so awful. I was flabbergasted - he could have told me that over the phone, and I'd have gotten it around the corner instead of being doubled over for however many days it took to get the appointment. When he said Imodium was better for cramping, too - even in my meek youth, I snapped, "why didn't you tell me that?" I think some docs think you're there for something you can't find in the drugstore. And of course, he got two office visits out of me, instead of just the first one, in which he could have mentioned both options. I am not a crazy conspiracy theorist (well, yeah, I probably am), and I truly think he's a decent guy. But sheesh!
Kari, I'm glad you mentioned that what has worked for you in the past is shifting now. That's a great reminder that this isn't about finding one "answer" and sticking with it forever. I think I'll put together a little more broad-minded 'toolkit' (as Joe says) and improve my powers of observation - rather than throwing out Imodium for Pepto or vice versa.
1/2 am and 1/2 pm is exactly what I am taking. Doesn't give me solid normans but much more manageable, ie. I can have a life! If It would help to retrain my gut I'll even take more!
Kari,
Imodium didn't work for 3 years for me after GI #2 gave me Neomycin. 9 a day didn't work! Even with VSL#3 it still took 3 years for my gut to "get over" the antibiotic. That is why I don't recommend antibiotics for anyone unless they have been tested ( hydrogen breath test for SIBO, etc.).
And Tex, thank you for the wise words, once again. I don't know what I would do without all of you!
